Hardware Is my 3ds Hinge Loose?

[Gurjas]

Just got an xl and the hinge feels very loose and feels like the top screen is about to fall out is this normal?

 

[link6155]

Well I got a regular 3DS here and the hinge is pretty sturdy, just a very very slight wobby. You do have a 12 month warranty that covers the loose hinge issue: http://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/539/p/48/session/L3RpbWUvMTM4ODYzOTEzNi9zaWQvTnQxRlFrSmw=

See if you can live with the loose hinge, if not, you should take advantage of the warranty and get it repair. They give you free shipping and it usually takes them 3-5 days to get it repair and get it back to you.

 

[SmileCitrus]

It's normal for the top screen to wobble a bit on the XL. It's much looser than on the normal-sized 3DS. If it really feels like it's going to fall off though, then yeah, you may want to exchange it or have it repaired.

 

[tbgtbg]

It's a little loose by design, to prevent all that hinge cracking business that some of the DS models were having.

 

[Gurjas]

Thank you for all your responses and if it is suppose to be a little loose thats fine but mine is really loose and feels like the top screen is about to fall out

 

[Heien]

Well, mine is loose too. It's an ice white 3ds, not xl and when i shake it while playing i can notice the hinge is loose. But if it was too sturdy it could cause problems like cracking the hinge parts soon since i'm opening and closing my system alot in a daily basis. For me, too sturdy = bad, a little bit loose = ok, too loose = send that to repair.

 

[migles]

it's normal, i had 2 3ds xl, both of them after one week the hinge gets really loose, and its annoying because when i am playing pokemon dream radar the screen "jumps" back and forth...

it really bothers me when i try to see the 3d screen or using the dream radar... i must keep my hand on the top part so i dont feel the screen falling down...

but this happened on both of them...

 

[lordofthereef]

Alright, so, SOME play is normal. But, as the TC puts it

the hinge feels very loose and feels like the top screen is about to fall out

Not sure if TC is overemphasizing the problem or...

 

[link6155]

Perhaps you can post a video for people to see if your loose 3DS XL hinge is normal or not.

 

[nervx]

I have an additional question about this.

Close your 3DS XL, now hold the bottom half tight and try to slide the top half up/down, left right a bit by pushing on the edges. (like sliding two dvd cases on top of each other) Does it move at all?

On mine I can move the top half a bit if I put a little pressure near the L button. Not sure if its normal or not.